Time Changes Nothing
by IceCoatedHeart
Summary: A new woman has just bought Ray's old house. But is it possible that someone doesn't want her there? Rated for later chapters, please read and review
1. C h a p t e r O n e

Time and Again  
When Emma Finch found the perfect house in the heart of Bucks County Pennsylvania, it seemed like she couldn't wait to sell her New York loft and head south. She pulled her gleaming little black Mercedes into the gravely driveway and eyed the two-story house that painted a cheery yellow.  
  
She smiled prettily and reached into her leather purse and pulled out an envelope that held a set of keys that the old owner had sent her. She climbed the porch and slipped off her painful black ice-pick heels and reduced her height to a non-intimidating 5'3.  
  
She fitted the keys into the front door that was a little scarred from time and pushed it open. Her breath caught in her slender alabaster color throat. It was more 1950's 'Better Homes' magazine then she had imagined.  
  
Wandering through the house, she touched everything. The old owner had actually left fresh towels and little bars of lavender soap. "Must be nice people," She murmured to herself as she ran her manicured fingers over the peaches-and-cream cotton. But she couldn't ignore the little nagging thought in the back of her brain telling her that maybe the family had left in a hurry, slowly, she began to unpack all of her things.  
  
She found herself in the kitchen that was lined with marble gray counter tops and chestnut cabinets. The walls were painted the same buttery yellow of the exterior of the house. Her smile was slow as she gazed out the window at rows and rows of corn.  
  
Out of the corner of her doe brown eyes, she saw two lean men wandering around outside the cornfield. She was alarmed before she reminded herself that she wasn't in New York anymore, and that everyone was not coming to kill you in your sleep.  
  
She leaned against the counter and watched them for a while. One of them, the taller one, turned and walked off a bit, but the other continued to trek forwards towards the house. Every scary movie she had seen began flashing in her mind when the crazy pig farmer killed the pretty young girl. She pulled her chin-length champagne blonde hair out of its bun and began looking for something as a weapon.  
  
Finding nothing, she decided to make use of the self-defense courses her brother Chance had almost forced upon her after the invasion. She shook her head; she didn't like to think about it much. The front door creaked open a little bit and she saw the shadow cast on the floor. Telling herself not to panic, she drummed her black ruby colored nails on the banister and waited.  
  
Merrill Hess walked slowly into the house and his blueberry and cream eyes darted around a corner, he could have sworn he saw the new owner in the kitchen. From what he saw, she was a young pretty thing, she couldn't have been much younger then him, though the sharp black suit she dressed in seemed to add years to her.  
  
He ventured farther into the house, standing wearily in the pallor while he looked around. There wasn't a sound in the house, but the shoes that probably cost more then he could ever make in his life, lay strewn on the hardwood floor. The windows glittered like diamonds, and in their reflection, he saw a young woman with petal pink lips standing on the stairway.  
  
She leaped at him. Though her mere 110 pounds would have felt like a feather to him, the shock knocked him flat on his back with her on him. He wrapped his farm-tanned arms around her to try to lift her off him and she fought like a wild cat. Her long nails lashed out and bit into him skin until he was able to wiggle out from under her.  
  
She jumped back as he did and they eyed each other with mutual contempt as he nursed his wounds. Even spitting mad, she was a pretty thing. Her skin had a rose flush, which made her skin look hot, and tempting, her lips were slightly parted and glossy, nervously she rubbed them together and demanded. "Who the hell are you?"  
  
Merrill rubbed at the raw skin and looked at her from under his long black lashes. "I'm Merrill Hess you psycho" He said angrily. Before he knew what had happened, Emma was on him again and slicing away at him. Just before she had effectively cut him into ribbons, Graham walked in. He had changed out of his church clothes and traded them for a worn blue plaid shirt and jeans.  
  
He yanked Merrill away from her and looked suspiciously at the blood that was oozing out of his brother's face. Before Emma could leap on Graham as well, he offered her a charming smile and held out a hand. "Hello, I'm father Graham Hess, you have just bought this house yes?" Emma nervously played with her amethyst necklace and eyed Graham as she decided to trust him.  
  
"Yeah. I'm Emma Finch, I just moved here from New York," She said. "That would explain it," Merrill said bitterly under his breath as he squeezed at his bleeding right hand. Emma and Graham cast annoyed looks at him and he shut up. "I apologize, Miss Finch, my brother has no tact". Emma smiled and looked a little sadly at Merrill.  
  
"I'm sorry about all that, I'm still a little shaky after-well you know. Can I get ya'll something to drink or anything" Merrill shrugged a broad shoulder. "Whatever you have" She disappeared in the kitchen and returned with 3 nostalgic looking polished emerald Coke bottles filled with the reddish-brown liquid. She handed them the bottles and popped them open with a bottle opener.  
  
"So," She said as she took the first bubbling sip. "Who used to live here?" Graham tilted the bottle to his lips but did not drink yet. "Ray Reddy, he was a veterinarian" Emma looked at them above her bottle. "Used to be? What happened to him?" Merrill and Graham exchanged glances. "He died" 


	2. C h a p t e r T w o

Chapter Two  
  
There was a tiny knock at the door and Emma rose to answer it. Standing on the doorway was a little blonde angel. "Hi," Bo blushed as she looked up at Emma. "Is my daddy here?" Emma looked over her shoulder at Merrill. "Is he your daddy sweetheart?" She asked. "No, he is" Bo said with a laugh like the answer was obvious all along.  
  
Graham went to Emma's side and lifted Bo into his strong arms. "Hey cupcake. What did I tell you about wandering around alone?" She looked a little ashamed. "I know, but Morgan didn't want to come, he said he didn't feel good" Instantly Graham was alert. "What is it? What did he say?" Bo shrugged the best she could. "He said his tummy hurts" Graham set Bo down and motioned for Merrill.  
  
"Miss.Finch, this is my daughter Bo, now if you'll excuse my brother and I, my son is sick" Emma nodded. Merrill reached down to pick Bo up and followed Graham through the huge cornfields. They both had a smooth gait and Emma was only a little embarrassed to discover that she wasn't only watching the way he was walking.  
  
She cleared her head and went into the kitchen where she poured the remaining soda down the drain. She smoothed out her hair and continued to gaze out the window. She saw patches of golden tulips growing in an island. Since she was from the city, she never perfected her green thumb, she decided now would be a good a time as any.  
  
The air was warm and sweet as she wandered outside into the garden. Birds fluttered up from the corn and called into the sky. She was ¾ in love with the place already. The sheer fact that neighbors would come by for no reason amazed her. In New York, people only came by if they wanted money from you.  
  
She went back into the house. It was beautiful, but a little lonely. She decided that later she would drive around and find a kennel and adopt a puppy. She loved dogs, but her tenet would never allow her to keep animals. Plus, she decided that since she was away at the office so often, it wouldn't be far to the dog.  
  
She went up the stairs and found her bedroom. It was painted the color of crushed cherries, the walls were gleaming and the floors were covered with glistening chestnut wood. There was even a bed, which Emma figured was good, she wouldn't have to spend money transporting her furniture. The bathroom that was connected was huge and the color of eggshells and had a gorgeous claw tub.  
  
Amazed by the sheer beauty of the house, she continued to explore. Even though she felt it, she never acknowledged the fact that someone was gazing intently at her from the 2nd story window. She changed from her icy black suit into shorts and a dark lilac tank top, changing her image entirely.  
  
She walked out onto the stone path and breathed in the cooling fresh air. She jolted when her small titanium cell-phone rang and she reached into her bra, the only safe place, to answer it. Seeing it was her brother, she grinned and answered it.  
  
"Chance!" She said happily as she imagined her brother sitting behind his fancy lawyer desk, his spiky sunshine blonde hair slightly mused and his eyes dark and chocolaty. "How ya doin sis?" He asked. She could hear the smile in his voice. "I'm alright, I just met the neighbors, seem nice enough. One man has the most adorable daughter, her name is Bo" There was a slight pause. "What kind of name is Bo?"  
  
Emma rolled her pretty eyes. "What kind of name is Chance? Anyway I think she's adorable. Anything interesting in New York?" "No not really. Mom's getting remarried" Emma's body went stiff. "That's great Chance, now tell me something that I care about" Chance nearly growled. "It's been 3 years Emma, you have to forgive her"  
  
Busy picking at a piece of lint on her shirt, "No I don't. She didn't sleep with your wife" Emma said referring to Chance's sweetheart of a wife Julie. "I know Emma, but she was drunk, she didn't know what she was doing" Embittered to the core about the conversation, she had a choice to fight Chance to the death, other the phone, or just hang up and let it go.  
  
She clicked the little button on her phone and glared at it a moment before tucking it back into place. Emotions were flooding her body that she didn't know how to deal with, everything felt like it was coming crashing down on her, like how she felt when she found her mother crawling all over her now ex-husband Dimitri.  
  
She reached into her gold cigarette case and pulled out a slim long stick and lit it with her engraved lighter. As the smoke spiraled into the perfect wildflower blue sky, she squinted her eyes to try to fight back the memories uselessly. Pictures she had kept for many years of her and Dimitri began appearing in her mind, the touch of his hands, the sound of his voice.  
  
Becoming too much to bear, she quickly returned to the house and went into the bathroom as she stripped her clothes and turned the water on full hot. Sitting in the middle of the tub, she let the heartbreaking cries come. 


	3. C h a p t e r T h r e e

Chapter Three  
  
Once she collected herself again, she glanced at a clock and noted that hours had passed since she talked to Chance. She knew he meant well enough, but if she wanted to fix her relationship with Kate Finch, she would have done it a long time ago.  
  
She brushed at her damp hair as she walked into the kitchen and realized how starving she was. She rummaged through the refrigerator, only to discover that she had neglected to fill it. She thought about ordering a pizza or Chinese, and then remembered that she didn't know any of the numbers.  
  
Glancing out the windows at the fields of corn, she bit her lip and made her decision. She wandered outside into the rows of corn and was amazed on how they towered over her head as she stared up at them. Reaching above her head, she snagged a stalk and broke it off.  
  
No bugs, she thought, that's a relief. She took two more and carried them inside in a basket she made from her shirt. She banged around in the kitchen, looking for pots and knives. Finding what she needed, she began to fill the pot with salt and scorching hot water as she shucked the corn.  
  
When the water was boiling, she threw in the corn and decided to pass time while it cooked as she leaned back onto a worn-in patchwork sofa, nothing like the smooth emerald green leather one she had in her loft that she often decorated with gem colored pillows and kept peacock feathers in a tall brass urn.  
  
Those days are done, she told herself firmly as she abandoned the TV and shuffled through the CD's she had brought with her and placed a few in the surprisingly new look black stereo.  
  
She heard the water boiling over onto the red-hot stove and she raced into the kitchen too keep from making a very big mess. As she stood by the stove, she felt a wave of nausea sweep over her, rolling in a horrible sticky ball in her stomach.  
  
Gripping her stomach, she switched off the stove and stumbled onto the couch again. She felt like she was going to be sick, but as soon as it had arrived, it disappeared, and left her feeling confused and exhausted.  
  
Feeling well enough to rummage for the phone book, Emma rose and went to carry the huge book onto the coffee table. She thumbed through the pages and was surprised to see that there was only one doctor that was in Bucks County.  
  
Still tired and groggy from her recent episode, she tried to apply a thin coating on makeup, but gave up and got in her car as she looked at the page she had torn out of the phonebook. The building was small and homey, something Emma hadn't experienced much before.  
  
When she stepped inside, a young cheerleader type redhead who was cheerful enough to assume that she had been hired for help over spring break greeted her. "Hi!" She beamed, showing rows of perfectly white teeth. "Hi, is Doctor Crawford in?" She asked nervously.  
  
Maddie, thus being the girls' name, picked up the phone and called for Dr.Crawford. She was ushered into the little office and was almost assaulted by the smell of antiseptic and red gum drops. Jimmy Crawford was a sweet man with a face as wide as the moon and bright blue eyes that were sparkling under neatly shaped sandy blonde eyebrows. "Hello!" He said happily as he gripped both her hands and shook vigorously. Over a stereo, she could vaguely hear a woman singing 'Brahms Lullaby' with a voice like heartbreak.  
  
As Dr.Crawford checked her heart and lungs, she asked. "Who's singing?" the doctor looked up for a minute before answering. "Janie Artanis. She's got a pretty voice doesn't see? Yeah I got to see her in Italy when I was visiting, she owns a pub with her two brothers"  
  
Listening to the sultry voice, Emma drifted and didn't come back to reality fully until she heard little sounds of pleasure coming from Jimmy's throat. "What, what is it?" His eyes were sparkling even brighter when he looked back up at her.  
  
"He'll be happy if she has your eyes" He said, kissing her cheek affectionately. "What?" Emma asked confused. "When was the last time you had relations?" He asked, now a little embarrassed. "Why?" "Will you answer the question please, Miss.Finch?" "It must have been about 4 months ago."  
  
When Dr.Crawford didn't say anything, she prodded. "What's the matter?" Smiling again, he turned to her. "Miss.Finch, you and your boyfriend are going to have a baby girl"  
  
Emma froze. "I don't have a boyfriend, I was married but we divorced 2 months ago" Dr.Crawford's smile fell a little. "I'm sorry" 


	4. C h a p t e r F o u r

Emma was sitting on the small porch in front of the house as she watched the rows of corn rustle in the soft breeze. She imagined what Dimitri was doing now, probably curled around some little floozy with no last name like a teenage cocktail waitress. "Hi I'm Heather. Hi I'm Ashley!" She mimicked in a perky yet overly bitter voice.  
  
She was so enthralled in her mixed feelings towards her ex-husband; she didn't hear Merrill approach out of the corn. "I thought your name was Emma" She jumped and let out a little yelp, which caused Merrill to smirk. "I didn't mean to scare you, I guess it's a New York thing to talk to yourself" She looked up at him "You would know" She murmured and tilted her head to observe him better.  
  
"Would you believe that I just realized who you are?" She asked as she scooted down the stairs to make room for him to sit. He took the invitation with a little hesitation that she could sense so she smiled up at him. "I'm not going to jump on you again" She said and patted the worn wood next to her.  
  
He took a seat next to her, her hair was hanging loose which he supposed was a whole lot hotter then it looked, the honeyed smell entranced him and he almost gave into the urge to dip his fingers into the white hot sheen. She turned back to him and smiled. "Why did you move here?" Merrill asked suddenly and Emma stared at him for a second or so. "New York was too impersonal" She lied quickly. She couldn't stand being in the same state as Dimitri and her mother, so she packed and left.  
  
Merrill nodded and looked up sharply at the sky as rain began to fall from the stony gray clouds. He was surprised when she didn't jump up to run inside the house; she sat still next to him and let the cool rain slowly soak her. So much was going wrong in her life very quickly, getting a little wet from the rain wouldn't hurt her any.  
  
She glanced her over shoulder to him and brushed the wet strands of hair out of her eyes. "How well do you see the stars at night?" She asked as she glanced up at the sky and let the rain wet her face, her hair turned to burnished gold; her eyelashes were still long and curved. "As clearly as I'm seeing you now" Merrill said and looked directly into Emma's eyes. She gave a small shiver and it was Merrill's delight to see it. "You're cold," He said even though he knew that the warm rain wasn't the cause of her shiver.  
  
"No," Emma denied softly and uncertainly reached out and mused Merrill's wet hair with her fingers so that it stood out in amusing spikes. "I love the rain, I love the way it feels on my skin." As if to demonstrate her point, she held out her long slender arms and watched the rain splatter against her skin. The simple sheer pleasure on her face couldn't do anything but reluctantly endear her to him. "Does it rain often here?" She asked and turned her smiling face away from the rain and to him. "Not very often, but when it does it's always a treat, so saying that," He rose to his feet and shook his head so that his hair stood up in mass confusion. He gallantly offered his hand to Emma as she sat on the stairs looking up at him, a minnow of a gold eyebrow raised. "I think we should take this moment to dance"  
  
Emma beamed and took his hand. "I would love to. But there's no music Merrill," She said as he drew her closer to his arms. "We don't need actual music, just listen," In the dense silence Emma could hear the rain thumping the beat onto the roof, the gentle slow drumming of the rain on the ground and wood. "It's almost like magic, we never get this in New York," She murmured against his chest. "Amazing" Merrill agreed, although he wasn't thinking about the rain or New York.  
  
She moved to put her arms around his neck but he caught her wrist and cupped their hands and placed her free hand on his shoulder and his arm loosely on her slender waist. "Where did a big baseball player like yourself learn to dance like this?" She asked as they moved together. "My mother used to make me take ballroom dancing lessons with her when I was a boy" She grinned up at him. "Oh so you're gay" She said delightedly and Merrill laughed with her. "Yeah, the gayest" He drew her closer and even though he was as wet as her, Emma drew in his warmth.  
  
"Emma, " He said and she shifted her gaze up to his face as he ducked his head and caught her lips with his. A small gasp escaped her lips as the subtle roughness of his own slowly tormented her. The gasp turned into a sensual moan as the arm around her waist began to roam and eventually found its way underneath the wet material of her shirt. Her skin tingled under his finger tips and for a moment she couldn't breath, the world became mute and she didn't hear anything, not the gradually increasing pounding of the rain, not the ruffle of clothes as Merrill pulled her closer to him.  
  
Emotions were fighting a horribly twisted battle inside her and finally a side won. "Merrill," She said as she tried to push at his chest, but it was like pushing at a brick wall. "This can't happen now, not now" She managed into between soft pants. Merrill's chest was heaving like a man who had been saved the right moment before he had drowned. His eyes were clouded over to the color of cold stones and Emma took a step back to separate her from the warm invitation of his lean body.  
  
"There's something you're not telling me about you Emma, but as it seems that you're living right in my range of vision, I think I can survive to wait until you're ready to tell me what's bothering you" He ran a hand over her sleek dripping hair and smiled. She closed a hand over his wrist as he ran a thumb over her lips that were swollen from the sudden kiss. She was dripping wet and at the moment, Merrill knew he would never see any woman look more beautiful then Emma did at that moment. "I will tell you, but let's not ruin this moment ok?" She asked and pressed a kiss to the tips of Merrill's finger and pressed them to his lips. With great difficulty, he watched Emma turn on her heels and walk into the house and the screen door slammed shut behind her.  
  
"You're soaking wet," Graham scolded Merrill as he walked into the kitchen. "Yeah," Merrill said distractedly and toed off the muddy wet boots onto the mat laying by the backdoor. "What took you so long?" Graham asked and with an aggravated sigh, dumped three glasses of half full water into the white ceramic sink. "I got distracted" He said and looked up to meet his older brother's steady stare. "This distraction wouldn't happen to have anything to do with our pretty new blonde neighbor would it?" He said and Merrill's eyes darted around the kitchen as if looking for a quick escape.  
  
"How did you find out?" Merrill asked and Graham laughed. "The windows see more then you think they do. It's not a mistake if you care about Emma, Merrill but she just got here, at least give her some time before you start to come on to her alright?" Merrill looked down at the muddy boots and sighed. "Women are such bloody puzzles" He said annoyed and Graham could only grin. "And ones that we have no business trying to figure out, they'll unfold themselves in time. But do you care for Emma?" Merrill ran his fingers through his hair and water sprinkled the aluminum floor. "I just met he, and out first impressions of each other aren't what you would call awe-inspiring"  
  
"Well if it were then she would have had the wrong impression of you then wouldn't she?" Merrill chucked and Bo came running into the kitchen. "Daddy there's something wrong with Isabel!" Graham dropped the plate he had been washing for the past 20 minutes as he hurried to follow Bo and Merrill jerked out of the seat so quickly that it toppled onto the floor with a loud crack. They followed Bo out of the door to the large shed in the back and saw the German Shepard lying on her side, heaving uncomfortably. Her tongue was lolling out of her mouth and her dark mysterious eyes were half closed as she wheezed. "There's nothing wrong with her Bo," Merrill said as he picked up his niece. "She's just having puppies" 


End file.
